National Pothole Day: British Cycling joins the ‘Pothole Partnership’ to fix Britain’s roads

For all road users, potholes can be expensive. In Britain, potholes caused £474 million in damage to vehicles last year, and the AA today announced it dealt with 631,852 pothole-related incidents in 2023.

For cyclists and motorcyclists though, they are dangerous; since 2017, close to one person per week has been killed or seriously injured whilst cycling due to potholes and road defects, according to Cycling UK.

Today (15 January), on Britain's National Pothole Day, six organisations from cycling, driving and motorcycling have joined forces to demand better pothole management from the British Government.

The new Pothole Partnership is made up of British Cycling, the AA, JCB, the National Motorcyclists Council, the British Motorcyclists Federation and IAM RoadSmart.

Together, the partnership has revealed a five-point plan for the government and local authorities:

• Permanent: Local authorities to limit the practice of temporary pothole repairs or patches and, where possible, every pothole or patch to be repaired permanently.
• Precise: All local authorities / contractors to adhere to UK-wide repair and inspection standards, and report annually on the repairs undertaken.
• Price: Government to demonstrate greater urgency by accelerating and increasing spending of the £8.3bn pothole funding for England in the first three years – with total clarity on the distribution to local authorities.
• Provision: Central and local government to guarantee ringfencing of ALL road maintenance funding to help deliver innovations that enable permanent repairs.
• Progress: Full transparency from local authorities on their roads repair backlog, categorised by potholes, patching works and road resurfacing.

Recently, the British Government pledged an extra £8.3 billion of funding for potholes, but that funding will be spread over the next 11 years, and just £150 million has been allocated for 2024. The new Pothole Partnership is calling for the £8.3 billion to be front-loaded, so local authorities can tackle the backlog on pothole repairs.

Caroline Julian, External Affairs Director of British Cycling, said: “We know from our members that potholes are a longstanding frustration and concern. They have tragic and fatal consequences that cannot be ignored. If we’re serious about fulfilling our ambitions to get more people cycling, we simply must ensure that our roads are safe and comfortable for them to ride on, and not the crater-filled carriageways they currently face.”

Potholes pose a similar danger to motorcyclists. Upon announcement of the partnership, Craig Carey-Clinch, executive director at the National Motorcyclists Council, said: “The situation is becoming ever more acute for motorcyclists.

“Potholes and other road surface-related defects are already shown to be extremely dangerous for motorcycle riders. The same pothole that damages a car, could prove fatal to a rider. Action is needed now to urgently clear the backlog of repairs.

“The NMC fully supports the Pothole Partnership and urges the Government to front-load the £8.3 billion that has been announced. The problem is now, not in seven or nine years' time.”